Published on: October 17, 2025, at 07:21h.
Updated on: October 15, 2025, at 11:08h.
EDITOR’S NOTE: “Vegas Myths Unraveled” appears every Monday, featuring a bonus Flashback Friday edition. This segment in our ongoing exploration first published on October 28, 2024.
The prevalence of this myth can be attributed to its inception by a credible Las Vegas media outlet.
Recently, the Clark County Commission allocated $1.5 million to transport the structure known locally as “the Green House” (or “the Howard Hughes House”) to the Clark County Museum, located 18 miles away in Henderson, citing its historical importance.
This house has been repeatedly referenced in numerous news articles by KLAS-TV, Las Vegas’ CBS affiliate, as the previous residence of the enigmatic billionaire during his eight-month stay in Las Vegas from 1953 to 1954.
However, this assertion has been categorically denied by Hughes’ closest surviving assistant.
A Dream Home
Comprising three bedrooms, two bathrooms, alongside a living room, kitchen, and dining area, the Green House was initially erected in 1951 as a bungalow for the Sun Villa Motel, later rebranded as the Blair House.
Hughes rented the house from the motel’s proprietors, James and Beatrice Fulcher, using it solely as an office location.
“He utilized it to operate the Howard Hughes Medical Institute,” Paul Winn shared with Casino.org. “But he never spent a single night in that house.”
Winn, who was associated with Hughes’ company from 1957 until 1989, initially as an operations secretary and eventually advancing to director of corporate records, provided insight into the situation.
Winn indicated that Hughes occupied one of the premium suites at the Flamingo during his entire initial stay in Las Vegas, returning there each night.
This information was relayed to Winn directly by Kay Glenn, who supervised operations at the Green House for Hughes and later became close friends with him.
Glenn, alongside Bill Gay and Nadine Henley, made up the core group responsible for managing both Hughes’ business and personal affairs. Glenn was the last surviving member of that inner circle, passing away in 2020.
This narrative appears more credible. By the 1940s, Hughes had amassed considerable wealth from an oil company inherited from his father, along with his own successes in aviation, film, and real estate. His primary residence during that time was an enormous 10,000 square-foot residence in LA, which was sold last year for an astounding $23 million.
Following his initial stint in Las Vegas, according to Winn, Hughes—who was known for his opulent lifestyle—relocated to several lavish bungalows at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Hughes was not about to stay in a modest dwelling like the Green House. However, he was inclined to minimize costs for his business, a trait common to most billionaires.
“Hughes wasn’t present in the office much,” Winn remarked. “His visits were infrequent.”
The Quirk of Hughes
Upon leaving Las Vegas for the first time in 1954 at the age of 48, Hughes requested the Green House be sealed until his anticipated return. He desired everything to be preserved meticulously as it was.
Gay, who later became president of Hughes’ Summa Corporation, secured the structure’s doors and windows with tape, subsequently painting over the tape with sealer.
His aides were well accustomed to his eccentric demands.
In November 1966, Hughes did return to Las Vegas but never visited the Green House. He continued to lease it while residing on the upper floors of the Desert Inn, just a short distance away.
In March 1968, Hughes acquired KLAS for $3.6 million (equivalent to $24 million today) from Hank Greenspun, the founder of the Las Vegas Sun, who started the TV station in 1953. At that point, the Green House had coincidentally found its way onto the station’s premises—currently situated in its parking lot.
Yet, Hughes’ motivation for purchasing the station was not linked to the Green House. (We’ll explain that shortly, don’t worry.)
Hughes continued leasing the sealed Green House after his final departure from Las Vegas in 1970. It wasn’t until 1972 that he finally acquired the property through Hughes Tool Company.
Hughes’ Reason for Acquiring KLAS
See? We promised we would get to that.
Hughes acquired the TV station primarily to influence the selection of movies aired at night. Long before VCRs became available, he wanted control over the films that would provide a backdrop for his relaxation at the Desert Inn.
This claim may sound far-fetched, but like many aspects associated with Hughes, it holds true.
On occasions when he wished to rewatch a film, he would instruct someone to contact the station manager to restart it.
“I wasn’t present, but others have informed me that this indeed occurred,” Winn stated, “and I have no reason to doubt it.”
Unsealing the Mystery
Following Hughes’ death in April 1976, Winn recounted how he and fellow employee Randy Hunter unsealed the Green House, uncovering a 22-year-old time capsule.
Their purpose was to search the property for Hughes’ will. Winn even used a jackhammer on the living room’s concrete floor, prompted by indications from a metal detector suggesting something of interest might be concealed within.
“It ended up being a pipe,” he remarked. “I felt it was an ill-advised endeavor, but it was something others insisted upon, so I complied. However, if a safe had been buried, Kay or someone else would have known about it, as they would have handled it.”
Though they never found Hughes’ will, they discovered items cataloged in the 1979 book “Empire: The Life, Legend and Madness of Howard Hughes” by Donald Bartlett and James Steele. This included:
- Two newspapers dated October 13, 1953, and April 4, 1954
- Keys to Room 186 at the Flamingo Hotel (potentially Hughes’ room) and Room 401 at the Hotel Miramar (which was demolished to construct the Castaways)
- Several chips from the Sahara casino
- A letter dated December 5, 1952, from someone named Jane (possibly Jane Russell, the star of the 1952 film “The Las Vegas Story,” romantically linked to Hughes)
- A script for “Son of Sinbad,” a Hughes-produced film released in 1955
- A 1953 appointment book believed to belong to actress Jean Peters, who starred in Hughes’ 1943 film “The Outlaw” (alongside Jane Russell)
- Eight rotary telephones
“That sounds about accurate,” Winn confirmed regarding the list, noting that he also discovered a silk robe, two pairs of shoes, and two white shirts in Hughes’ size tucked away in a closet—along with a 22-year-old loaf of bread stored in the refrigerator that was still operational.
Winn stated that he and Hunter transported all items—aside from the phones, newspapers, and stale bread—back to the Hughes Company headquarters, cataloging them in the records room.
None of these items were ever returned to the Green House.
Grasping the Myth
In 1978, Landmark Communications, a national media corporation, acquired KLAS from a trust established by Hughes. The $5.5 million investment also included the Green House.
Landmark restored the emptied and jackhammered structure, transforming it into a rental space for executives and managers visiting Las Vegas from other regions. Additionally, KLAS utilized it for board and editorial meetings, as well as station gatherings, showcasing it to advertising executives during sales pitches.
As noted by Winn, KLAS financially benefitted from promoting the property’s historical relevance and cultural significance.
“It became a central feature for them and was leveraged in their marketing approach,” Winn stated.
The myth surrounding Hughes’ residency at the Green House enhanced the station’s credibility, prompting repeated mention, according to Winn. The legend expanded, akin to Pinocchio’s nose, to include romantic escapades with movie starlets, implying Hughes utilized the Green House bedrooms for such encounters.
“It was all fabricated,” Winn asserted. “It’s baffling that a news outlet spent so much effort concocting these tales.”
When prompted for specific instances, Winn recounted former KLAS news director Bob Stoldal’s claim stating that suits filled the house upon it being unsealed, evidencing that Hughes had stayed there.
“No, that simply wasn’t the case,” Winn insisted, “unless someone placed them there after I left. We examined every square inch of that house!”
Landmark’s restoration added period-appropriate items to the Green House that weren’t original—similar to a museum’s approach to restoring a historical site’s authenticity. These included framed photographs of Hughes, promotional posters from his films, and simulated personal belongings, such as a Voicewriter Dictaphone and a reel-to-reel tape recorder, according to Winn.
“I don’t recall seeing either of those,” Winn remarked, “and I have a remarkable memory. Plus, Hughes would have never permitted us to use a tape recorder.”
In 2022, these items and more went to auction, resulting in the $1.5 million allocation now set for relocating the Green House, involving disassembly and reconstruction. This is a beneficial move.
On the flip side, the individuals who acquired anything other than a telephone from that auction entered under the false impression of having obtained extraordinarily rare pieces of Las Vegas lore.
A Divided House
To KLAS‘s credit, the new administration has permitted a younger generation of reporters to revisit the myth of Hughes’ supposed residence in their parking lot, now drawing different conclusions.
Brian Will’s reporting, a Gen-Z journalist covering Clark County’s approval of relocation funds, represents the first KLAS piece to directly challenge the myth.
“We don’t believe that Howard Hughes ever slept in that house,” stated Geoff Schumacher, a Mob Museum historian and author of the 2008 book “Howard Hughes: The Power, Paranoia and Palace Intrigue,” in the report.
Schumacher further noted, “We do not think he hosted individuals there—be it women or anyone else.”
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